One for One - A McRoll in the Real World Story
by Mari217
Summary: Evidence of a crime and help investigating it comes from a very thorough source - Grace!


" _Are you guys ready? Let's roll' - Todd Beamer, passenger on United Airlines Flight 93 to the passengers who attacked the 9/11 hijackers._

 _Today we'd like to remember the 2,977 lives lost and more than 6,000 injured on 9/11, including the 343 firefighters and 72 law enforcement officers who were killed when they tried to rescue those trapped inside the World Trade Center. It's been 15 years and I can still see and smell the smoke as clearly as I did that day while standing on my front porch._

 _Additional AN's at the end_

* * *

 **One for One**

 **Kukui High School Cafeteria**

The end of a conversation reached her ears as Grace Williams rounded the corner to enter the cafeteria. "Monday. It's always on a Monday. Tell your friends but cover your asses." She was busy looking for her friends as she passed the group of seniors and didn't pay them much attention until one whispered a little too loudly, "Shh!" and nodded in her direction.

" 'Cause she's new?" A second voice inquired. "She's from Sacred Heart."

"No, 'cause she's a _cop's_ kid." Disdain dripped from the words.

Grace, whose plan to ignore them flew out the window at the affront to her father, whirled around and tilted her chin to look up. " _What_ did you say?"

"That you're a cop's kid, that's like being a snitch." A lanky, bespeckled kid with unruly hair regarded her coldly. A few others stood in uncomfortable silence and one chuckled.

"That's right I'm a cop's kid. _And_ a cop's niece. A really proud one." She pointed two fingers at the boy who stood nearly a head taller. "And _you're_ a … a jerk." A different expletive was held back at the last second.

"She don't get it." A short boy with fluffy blond hair and a bad complexion sneered.

"Get what? You mocking my dad? My _family_? No, _you_ don't get it. My dad keeps people safe. Keeps _you_ safe. Every - you know what - nevermind." She turned on her heel and walked away, cheeks flushed and jaw set in a way she'd be proud to know was very much like her father's.

She met up with Linda, Casey and a few others at what had become their usual table and told them of the exchange when they asked about the encounter they'd witnessed but had been too far to hear. The girls commiserated, agreeing the kids were jerks and after a few minutes, everyone went back to their lunches - cafeteria altercations were nothing new in any school - and began discussing weekend plans.

* * *

 **Williams' Home**

That evening, Grace tapped her keyboard and stared at the screen of her laptop. Jotting a few notes on a pad, she squinted in thought and finally nodded, just as she heard her father's voice.

"C'mon, Grace, dinner!" Danny called for the second time. He was about to start down the hall to her room when she appeared.

"Sorry, I was looking something up."

"I thought you finished your homework?" He placed a bowl of salad on the table as Grace poured two iced teas.

"I did. This was just for me."

Danny passed her the plate of meatloaf. "Extra credit?"

"Nope." She helped herself to a slice and some potatoes. "Just something I was curious about. Hey, what time are we going to Uncle Steve and Auntie Cath's tomorrow?"

"The plan is for six. What should we bring for dessert?"

"Ummm, how about brownies and ice cream for sundaes?" Grace smiled and the conversation moved on.

* * *

 **Following week  
HQ 2:45 p.m.**

"Knock, knock, Uncle Steve." Grace peered into Steve's office from the hall and he smiled to see her.

"Gracie, hey." He stood and gave her a hug. "Danno's still in court. Were you supposed to meet him here? He didn't say anything."

She shook her head. "No. I came to see you. I have information on a crime that can't wait till he gets done." She placed the blue and white backpack he recognized from her shopping trip with Catherine on the corner of Steve's desk to retrieve the papers she'd arranged neatly in a folder.

Steve's body posture changed on a dime. Tension crossed his face as he asked what kind of crime, followed immediately by, "Sweetheart, are you okay?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry. I'm fine. But I overheard some stuff last week, then I heard about it again, so I looked into it." Grace handed the folder and a stack of printouts to Steve. "They're gambling," she said, and waited, arms crossed as he read them. "At school."

He looked at her, brows knitted. "How …" He looked at the very determined expression on her face and nodded before continuing, "How did you get all this information?"

"I got suspicious when I overheard them talking about _games_ because one of the guys said not to let me hear 'cause I'm a cop's kid." Her eyes blazed. "Like that was a bad thing! I told him off and walked away, but then I got thinking, and I remembered hearing other kids, mostly older ones, talking about games and hanging out in Mr. Boyd's room after school and before classes. He's a student teacher and my friends said that many kids wouldn't normally hang in the math department, you know?"

"This Mr. Boyd, you think he's involved?"

"Yeah, I do. I googled him so I could give you his first name. It's Clifford." She wrinkled her nose. "And I have the names of the kid from the cafeteria and a couple more that were hanging around with him. A lot of them are seniors that transferred in as freshmen from Sacred Heart, Punahou and Mid-Pacific." She listed three of the highest-tuition private schools on Oahu.

Steve couldn't hold back an amazed and very proud smile as he nodded at the printouts in his hands. "Really?"

She smiled in return. "There're photos in there too, from the online yearbook."

"Of course there are." His smile grew, then he sobered slightly. "Did you show any of this to your dad?"

Grace shook her head. "Not yet, I just figured how it all fit together today and Danno's in court for another hour. Last week, they said the game was on Monday, so I tried to get as much information today as I could, then I thought I should tell you right away." She looked at the printouts and back at him. "Those games? They're for a _lot_ of money, Uncle Steve. I think they especially invite kids that transferred from the private schools, you know, 'cause their folks are ri- um, have money." She was never as comfortable talking about wealth as many children with a parent as well off as Rachel would be - she definitely had far more of Danny's sensibilities regarding money.

Steve nodded as he thumbed through the information. She had compiled a list of people who she'd divided into _participants_ and _suspects_. The suspects had images stapled to their information. She even had the location and room number for Clifford Boyd marked on a campus map..

"Grace, this is … this needs to be looked into. You did an amazing job, sweetheart, but you didn't let anyone know you were …"

"Investigating?" She supplied with a tiny smile. "No. I was _super_ careful. I did it all online and by paying attention to what people were saying. I thought, 'What would Auntie Cath do?,' so I got all the information I could on the people I thought were in charge." She took the 'Suspects' list and pointed to two teens. "These kids are involved. They tell other kids about poker games, and I think they invite them. And I think some kids who don't play bet on other kids to win, and the kids who invite the players, they pay when those people win - does that make sense?" She clearly wanted to make sure she was getting all the right information across.

"That makes perfect sense." Steve leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "You're talking about bookies. They take bets on the outcome of the games and give payouts, and when the gambler loses, which is pretty often, they collect the debt."

"Oh. Bookies. I heard Danno and Uncle Sal talk about some guy they knew who went to jail for bookmaking. Is that the same thing?" As Steve nodded, Grace's eyes went to the office door where Catherine was entering. "Hi, Auntie Cath."

"Grace?" Catherine knew if their niece's visit was scheduled, Danny would have mentioned it and Grace would most likely have texted her.

"Gracie did an _investigation_." Stevee looked a little concerned but extremely proud.

"Of what?" She walked up to hug her.

He held out the stack of information. "There seems to be a gambling ring at Kukui."

"A what?" She looked at Grace as they broke their hug. "You didn't confront anyone, did you, sweetie?"

"No. I did what I thought you would," Grace explained, and Catherine's eyes caught Steve's. His look of pride grew as the teenager explained how she'd gathered 'intel' and when she was sure, came right to HQ.

"Okay, well, your dad should be back soon," Catherine said. "How about I go over what you have and we can …"

"Go arrest them?" Grace's hands found her hips. " 'Cause it's against the law _and_ it's like stealing because those kids have to be getting that money from their parents."

"We'll apply for a warrant to investigate further. I'm sure we'll get one quickly, because it involves underage gambling."

"The games are after school so there's no need to clear the classrooms or anything," Steve noted. He was ready to go right then, Catherine could see it in the set of his shoulders. "I'll text Danny, he's gotta be on his way back in the next half hour. When he gets here, we'll go over whatever you find."

* * *

 **Next day**

Clifford Boyd sat at his desk looking at a laptop. There were two teens, one boy, one girl, in the otherwise empty classroom. When the team entered, all three attempted to shove handfuls of what looked like notes into a whirring shredder.

"Clifford Boyd. Away from shredder and hands on the desk" Steve's hand on his weapon left no room for argument.

"You two, on the floor, hands behind your head, fingers clasped." Danny stepped closer to the scared looking suspects as Chin zip tied them.

"Delicia Meho, you are under arrest …" he began, as Kono mirandized the second teenager with, "Kaoru Hikaru, you are …" and led them out to the waiting HPD squad car. They were both eighteen, and would be charged with bookmaking and promoting gambling in the second degree.

Steve was securing Boyd as Catherine began to read his rights when he scoffed, "They sent the task force? Jeez, it wasn't _that_ much money," under his breath.

"It was enough to charge your sorry ass with a class C felony." Steve tugged him to his feet as Catherine continued with the litany of charges, "Gambling within Hawaii state borders, promoting gambling in the first degree, engaging in bookmaking, possession of gambling records in the first degree, possession of a gambling device …"

When she finished, Boyd looked point blank into her eyes and stated, "We targeted the rich kids. It wasn't like the wealthy little bastards were gonna miss it."

She shook her head and lead him outside without a word, as Steve and Danny gathered the tablet, cards and - from inside the locked desk drawer that Steve ripped open with his knife - boxes of poker chips and an old-style paper ledger.

"Heh." Danny rolled his eyes. "He probably thought going old school with his backup, pun intended, was safer than cyberspace." He thumbed through the book. "These are copies of the bookie sheets. Miserable piece of crap. Some of the kids acting as runners were in to Boyd for over ten thousand dollars."

They dropped the items into evidence bags and headed for the door. As they entered the hall, Steve paused momentarily.

"What?" Danny had been tying off and labelling the bags as they walked.

He tilted his chin a few paces to their left. "That was my locker."

"Huh? Where?"

"0900" Steve continued to walk. "Freshman year. This was the freshman wing." Chin came up alongside the partners, having sent the bookies off with HPD.

"Mine was 0071." A smile lit his face. "I had the same set of locks all through school. I see they're built in now."

"Of course you did." Danny smiled at his friend. "Grace's locker is across the campus. You know my daughter, the amazing investigator, thinks it's pretty cool to be going to both her uncles' old high school."

"At least _she_ won't break my records." Chin laughed.

"Your records were dust in '92," Steve grinned. They'd reached the parking lot and Catherine and Kono joined them. "She may break Danny's solve record, though. She's one for one."

"True," Kono added. "You never know, she may join us someday."

"After the Academy and a Naval career …" Steve added with a grin.

"My baby girl is not joining the task force," Danny grumbled. "I couldn't take the stress."

"She _was_ pretty amazing," Catherine said, knowing the grousing was about him wanting his daughter kept safe and sound. "All the info she provided made it easy for me to delve into the case. I contacted the kids' parents and as soon as they realized money had been transferring to an account owned by Boyd, we were halfway to jail time for him."

Danny was smiling ear to ear, but there was still a hint of concern. "You guys know I'm proud of her. Really proud, always, but this was …" he waved a hand, "I'm just thankful she didn't try to confront anyone. God forbid, can you imagine?" He looked pained for a second, but Catherine's hand on his arm refocused his attention from a worst case scenario.

"She didn't. She came right to us. She looked online and got info and told us what she overheard. Danny, she was perfect. She didn't even tell Linda or anyone else."

"She said she thought of what you'd do." Danny smiled at Catherine. "And did it." Lightness returned to the detective's expression as he pointed at his best friend. "For which I'm forever grateful, because if she had gone with 'what would Uncle Steve do' … she'd have given me a heart attack for sure."

"Danny?" Steve biting back a grin gave him away as his muttered, "Bite me," was lost in Catherine chuckle.

* * *

Grace's questions tumbled out of the speaker and reverberated through the car. "You're all okay and he's in jail? And the bookmaking people, too? Can I tell Linda now? And Casey and Cody?"

"Slow down, Grace. Yes, we're all fine. Yes, Clifford Boyd is in jail thanks to my brilliant daughter, but let's wait till I get home and have a little discussion on what happened today before you start burning up the phones, okay?"

"You did a _great_ job, Gracie." Steve's smile was evident in his voice as Danny glanced at his grinning partner. "You may even be a better investigator than Danno someday."

"Hey, you mean I can come work with you?"

"No!" Danny's exclamation made Steve's smile broaden. "You are not allowed to work with Uncle Steve. Are you trying to kill me?"

"Daaaano, I meant when I'm an adult."

"Yeah, Danno," Steve echoed her tone.

"Shut up, Steven. And _I_ meant until you're Nonna's age."

"You'll be like a hundred and seven by then, ohhh, but we can be the oldest father/daughter investigators on the task force!" Grace's peals of laughter made both men shake their heads. "I have to go, Grandma's calling, I told her you were out on a case I helped with - love you both!" she announced, and at their goodbyes, clicked over to take the call.

"A hundred and seven. You may be retired," Steve smirked.

"And you won't?"

He shrugged.

"Then I'm screwed - I can't retire until you do, who'll watch your back?"

"Maybe Gracie, as an eighty plus year old member of the task force."

"This is my mother's curse, you know." Danny shook his head. "When I was little she'd say, 'Someday, I hope you have a kid who's just like you."

Steve's expression sobered slightly. "She's the best, Danny. You did good."

"I've had a lot of help." Danny looked at his partner with meaning. "From family." He saw his best friend's eyes light at the sentiment behind his words. "And you'll do great, too." A chuckle escaped as he added, "Which reminds me, I'll need to talk to any little McGarretts about getting you to retire while I'm still young enough to go visit New Jersey every summer."

Steve couldn't hold back a smile as he pulled the car into the parking lot at the Palace and his partner rattled on.

"Of course, once you do, you'll be terrorizing your grandchildren by driving like a lunatic and waving a SIG in the senior center." Danny snorted.

As he exited the Camaro, he turned to Catherine, who had parked moments before and moved to fall into step with him and Steve. Glancing at both, he grumbled, "I'd throw my mother's curse on you, but I wouldn't do that to Catherine." He nodded at her. "So I hope your kid _and_ grandkids all take after you. As it is, there are so many things Uncle Danno will need to discuss with …" At Catherine's amused look, he pulled out his ringing phone and answered, "Hey, Ma, I'm fine … Grace is fine. Yeah, she really did do her own investigation, she was incredible …"

As he watched his partner move toward the building, Steve slung an arm around Catherine's shoulders for a brief moment and the two shared a smile as they followed Danny inside.

 _# End thanks for reading_

* * *

 _ **Sammy & Ilna, Having you in my life is a gift. Every single day. Thank you.**_

 _ **REALMcRollers, All the love and joy you send us is something we never take for granted. Thank you one and all.**_

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 _In addition, one of our AWESOME REAL Worlders, katydid13, has created a community here on fanfiction dot net that brings all of the REAL World stories, and all of Mari, Sammy & Ilna's pre-universe stories in one place. You can find it at __**community/McRoll-in-the-Real-World**_


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